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Samsung smart watch steals the show

In the race to get ahead in the smart phone market Samsung has unveiled a new smart watch device, days ahead of Apple's release of its new iPhone.

The biggest news to come out of the Samsung Unpacked event in Germany overnight wasn't a new smartphone or tablet (although those were announced, too) but a smart watch called the Galaxy Gear.

Samsung's first entry into the nascent smart watch category offers many of the conveniences of a smartphone. You can use it to make and receive calls, send text messages, download apps and even capture photos and videos.

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But there are a couple of catches to note up-front. Since it's designed as a "companion device", it has to be paired with a smartphone to function properly. This isn't a major drawback, as other smart watches work the same way.

The second, more notable catch is that – for now – the Galaxy Gear is only compatible with the new Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition, both of which were also launched at the event. A software upgrade in October will extend the Galaxy Gear's compatibility to the Galaxy S3, Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy Note II.

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Other smart watches such the Sony SmartWatch, Pebble and WIMM One aren't tied to specific devices, and can therefore be used with any Android smartphone or tablet. This certainly limits the Galaxy Gear's appeal, but it also allows for tighter integration between the smart watch and phone.

The Galaxy Gear runs the Android operating system, but it's a heavily-modified version that's been optimised for the smaller 1.63-inch touchscreen. There are no widgets, multiple home screens or multi-tasking toolbars that Android veterans would be familiar with, just a simple clock face home screen and an icon-based menu system that shows one option at a time. Using simple swipe gestures, you can navigate through the menu to access the apps, phone dialler and camera.

The apps that come pre-installed on the Galaxy Gear range from the basic functions such as notifications, stopwatch and calendar, to features that are more sophisticated. The voice memo app, for instance, translates your voice recordings into text, while the pedometer app records the number of steps you make per day. Taking a leaf out of the Galaxy S4's playbook, there's also an S-Voice app that lets you perform certain actions (such as making calls, launching apps and checking the weather) using voice commands.

Limiting the Galaxy Gear's compatibility to the Note 3 (for now) has enabled Samsung to tightly integrate the two devices. Can't find your Galaxy smartphone? Initiating the "find my device" function on the Galaxy Gear will make it beep loudly and vibrate if it's within range of the Bluetooth connection. The Auto Lock feature will also lock the Note 3's screen whenever it's more than 1.5 metres away from the Galaxy Gear.

As well as sharing the notifications, phone calls and text messages from a Galaxy Note 3, any photos, videos or memos you create on the Galaxy Gear are automatically pushed to the smartphone so you can view them on the larger 5.7" screen. You can also manage many of the Galaxy Gear's features using the Gear Manager app on the Note 3, such as changing the clock faces and installing new apps.

Samsung has promised that more than 70 apps will be available for the Galaxy Gear at launch, including popular favourites such as Evernote, Glympse, eBay, Pocket, MyFitnessPal, TripIt, Snapchat and RunKeeper.

There's no question that the Galaxy Gear is a good-looking gadget. The 1.63-inch colour touchscreen is framed by a matte silver bezel, and the band is available in six attractive hues ranging from the subtle "jet black" and "rose gold" options to the more eye-catching "wild orange" and "lime green" varieties.

The band, which consists of a textured rubber material, feels sturdy enough to suffer the rigours of everyday activity, but the soft touch finish adds a premium feel that matches the rest of the Galaxy Gear's upmarket aesthetic.

Importantly, the relatively large display isn't as in-your-face as you might expect, and the watch itself doesn't feel too awkward or heavy when worn. There are two microphones on either side of the watch face that work in tandem for noise cancellation during phone calls, and the speaker is built into the band's buckle.

The 1.9-megapixel camera is located on the top end of the watch band, but its positioning isn't ideal. To take photos or videos of what's directly in front of you, you'll need to tilt the Galaxy Gear so that the screen is completely horizontal – unfortunate, as the screen's limited viewing angles make it difficult to see in this orientation.

The relatively small 315mAh battery means you'll need to charge the Galaxy Gear as often as you charge your smartphone, with a run-time of roughly 25 hours. The bundled charger consists of a leather-look dock that wraps around the watch face and plugs into a wall socket.

The Galaxy Gear 3 will be released alongside the Galaxy Note 3 in more than 140 countries around the world from September 25. Its Australian release is expected to be close to, if not contemporaneous with, the worldwide launch. Pricing is yet to be announced.

Telstra is the only Australian carrier that has confirmed it will be selling the Galaxy Gear smart watch along with the Galaxy Note 3. Vodafone, Optus and Virgin Mobile have all confirmed they will be selling the Galaxy Note 3.